In August U.S., British and Jordanian forces carried out joint military exercises in Jordan near the border with Syria. After the exercises 150 U.S. special forces stayed behind to be stationed along the border.

In 2008 the U.S. signed an agreement with Jordan which okayed the provision of $300 million per year in Foreign Military Financing.

The Obama administration is using the catch-all pretext of "monitoring chemical and biological weapons" as justification for the positioning of the special forces.

These changes are part of U.S. militarization of the situation in and around Syria. For the people of Jordan and neighboring countries it means an increased danger of U.S. intervention using Jordanian territory as a launching pad.